Recent survey has named Auckland as the 10th best city in the world to live in.

Auckland is the 10th best city to live in. The capital of New Zealand Wellington occupies the 23rd position, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest survey of ranking among 140 locations.

Melbourne came in as the best city in the world to live in. Melbourne scored 97.5 per cent, just beating Vienna on 97.4 per cent and Vancouver on 97.3. A ranking of 100 per cent is considered ideal.

Melbourne claimed the title of the world's most liveable city in the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest survey, with Sydney, Perth and Adelaide also making it into the top 10.

Economist Intelligence Unit survey editor Jon Copestake said Melbourne managed to move up one spot to claim the top ranking thanks to a slight fall in Vancouver's infrastructure score, which is one of the measures of liveability.

The Canadian city slipped to third spot, behind Vienna in Austria.

Sydney made it to sixth position.

"Australia, with a low population density and relatively low crime rates, continues to supply some of the world's most liveable cities," Mr Copeland said in a statement.

The debt crisis in euro zone countries led to a slight fall in European cities' liveability rankings.

The survey said the 'Arab Spring' uprisings and the Libyan civil war pushed down scores across the Middle East and North Africa with the Libyan capital Tripoli falling into the bottom 10 for the first time.

The very bottom place went to Harare in Zimbabwe, which scored 38.2 per cent.

The survey ranks 140 locations as having the best or the worst living conditions, with cities scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.